Greetings! The 45th Benthic Ecology Meeting, March 16-19th in Portland, Maine is now open for registration. Our website is live at http://www.bemsociety.org/, and early bird registration and abstract submission continues up to January 22.

We are excited to hold the 45th BEM on the edge of one of the most productive and impacted marine ecosystems in the world: The Gulf of Maine. This year’s program will highlight the human footprint on this historic marine system, including the impacts of climate change and overfishing. The sessions will kick off with a Thursday morning plenary by Dr. Boris Worm http://wormlab.biology.dal.ca/. Oral papers continue on Thursday morning to Saturday afternoon, with a poster session on Thursday evening. We are organizing three special sessions this year:

Our social calendar includes a Wednesday evening Icebreaker at the Westin Harborview, the Beneath the Waves Film Festival & Social on Friday night and hosted by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute http://www.gmri.org/, and traditional banquet and dancing at the Westin Harborview Ballroom on Saturday evening.

Friday afternoon we take a break from talks, with an option to explore Bowdoin College’s Coastal Studies Center on Harpswell Sound http://www.bowdoin.edu/coastal-studies-center/. Join us for a X-country ski or snowshoe in a beautiful coastal forest, hot and cold beverages, and tour of our marine facilities.

We will use the BEM e-mail list to send meeting updates as they evolve. For additional questions, contact us at: benthics2016@gmail.com

Early bird Registration Rates: January 22nd, 2016Click here to register After the 22nd registration will go up in price to the regular rates.Also don't forget to sign up for the Field trip to Bowdoin's Coastal Study Center and the Friday SocialAlso don’t forget to book your room at the Conference Hotel, Westin Harborview Portland. Our room block and rates will be held until February 20th, 2016.

Early bird Registration Rates End: January 22nd, 2016Click here to registerAfter the 22nd registration will go up in price to the regular rates. Also, don’t forget to book your room at the Conference Hotel, Westin Harborview Portland. Our room block and rates will be held until February 20th, 2016.Click here to book your roomWhen registering, don't forget to sign up for our Friday afternoon field trip to Bowdin College's Coastal Studies Center, the Friday Night Social, and the Beneath the Waves Film Festival viewing session. Sign up early, space is limited.If you have any questions please email us at benthics2016@gmail.com

January 29, 2016: End of January UpdateHello Benthic Ecology Fanatics!First off, we want to say thank you for the fantastic response to our call for abstracts for the 45th Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting. In fact, the response was so vast we are expecting to have 5 concurrent sessions this year. We are currently going through all of the submissions and will be in contact with you shortly as to the status of your presentation. For those of you that have chosen to present a poster at the meeting here are the maximum poster dimensions:

44”H X 33”W(this is portrait orientation)If you have submitted an abstract, please remember you still need to register for the meeting. Your abstract submission does not count as registration to the meeting. ​Click here to register for the meeting.

The Friday afternoon field trip to Bowdoin’s Coastal Studies center is full at this time. Thank you for your interest and we are excited to show you the facilities and property.

Please remember to book your room at the hotel before February 20th, 2016 after that date we are unable to guarantee the conference rate. Click here to book your roomWe look forward to seeing you in March and if you have any questions before you arrive please feel free to email us at:

February 18, 2016: Schedule has been postedHello Benthophiles!​We are less than one month from the start of the 45th Benthic Ecology meeting in Portland, ME. The program has come together quite nicely -- we even had to add a 5th concurrent session due to your great response to the call for abstracts.

I have posted the schedule to the website as a pdf so you can look through it at your leisure to start planning your meeting.

There is no need to print the schedule; you will be provided a printed schedule booklet upon your check-in at the meeting registration. Soon, I will also be posting the abstracts a pdf for you to peruse. The abstracts will not be printed, so please feel free to download the pdf to your E-machines to use as a reference during the meeting.As a reminder, tomorrow,FEBRUARY 20th, is the last day to book the conference hotel at the meeting rate.

February 27: Photomicrography Contest!

Enter the first ever Photomicrography Contest at the Benthic Ecology Meeting this year, sponsored by the American Microscopical Society. The photomicrography contest is an opportunity to showcase your artistic side, as well as your technical skill and the beauty of your research. By sharing your photomicrographs, you allow others to glimpse the wonder of the world revealed by your microscope.

The winning photograph will be displayed on the American Microscopical Society website and $100 will be awarded to the photographer. You do not need to be a member of AMS but do visit our website (amicros.org) for other news and opportunities for students and professionals using microscopes in their research.

Photos (a maximum of two entries) will be accepted until noon on the first day of BEM (March 17th) and will be on display until noon on March 19th. Every meeting participant is eligible to enter and there is no entrance fee. Just bring an unlabeled, unsigned and unmounted print (8 x 10 inches; color or black and white) taken with any microscope (light, confocal, SEM, TEM) to the AMS booth; a single line of information identifying the subject (e.g., “Larval Echinoderm”) and stating the microscopical technique (e.g., “SEM”) should be below the photograph.

The best photomicrograph will be determined by popular vote (one vote per person) and will be awarded the grand prize of $100. First place winner and honorable mention will be announced at the banquet and on the AMS website. For full contest rules see AMS Photomicrograph Contest.

March 9, 2016: ONE WEEK UNTIL IT BEGINS!!!Wow, it is hard to believe that the 45th Benthic Ecology meeting is just seven days away. Things are coming together on our end and this should be one heck of a meeting.

We have over 280 oral presentations and 130 posters for your perusal during the meeting. For those of you giving oral presentations be sure to check out the information for presenters on the Benthics website (bemsociety.org). Talks should be no longer than 14 minutes in order to keep to the schedule.

Posters can be hung starting Wednesday afternoon; a number is associated with your name/poster that corresponds with a number on the poster board. Please hang your poster at your assigned space. The poster assignment list is currently on the website and will be posted in the poster display area.

Abstracts for both oral presentations and posters have been posted to the website, as well. Please feel free to download the abstracts but for the sake of the trees leave them on your e-devices.

OTHER INFORMATION

This winter in Maine the weather has been all over the place; it seems like spring (aka mud season) has decided to settle in a bit early this year. Looking at the forecast for next week there is a chance for rain so be sure to pack your umbrellas or rain coats. Temperatures will be in the low 50s during the day and upper 30s at night. For us in Maine, this is balmy and we will likely be wearing shorts, but please pack accordingly as it can be a bit brisk for the non-Mainer.

Unfortunately, it appears we will not have any snow for x-country skiing or snowshoeing for the folks that are heading to Bowdoin's Coastal Studies Center on Friday afternoon. However, there is a fabulous network of trails on site for us to hike; you will be able to take in some beautiful coastal vistas.

Friday night’s social and Beneath the Waves Film Festival at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) is all set, as well. To see a list of the films click here.

Don’t forget the microscopy photo contest; bring us your best!

Whether you are onsite or unable to join us this year, follow the events as they unfold using the hashtag #benthics2016 on facebook, twitter, and instagram. Use this hashtag to post your contributions, too!

Registration for the meeting will be directly across from the hotel registration desk. We will be open for business at 4pm on Wednesday, March 16th. We will close down registration when the Icebreaker starts at 6pm and reopen again Thursday at 7am.

As always, please feel free to email us if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

The Annual Business meeting for the Benthic Ecology Meeting Society will be held on Saturday March 19th from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm in the Hawthorne room at the Westin Harborview. All those parties interested in attending are welcome.